1 Month Old Randomness

Thought I should do a quick update. Bailey turned one month on Tuesday, and it's been 5 weeks today. So hard to believe. Anthony had snow days on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, so he got to be home with us, which was wonderful! I've had a few random things about her that I've wanted to get written down....

*I love it when she gets ready to sneeze, but then it goes away. Her facial expression is super cute when that happens.

*She LOVES to be held, much prefers that to being laid somewhere. Sleeps much better being held as well.

*She is "talking" more everyday and has made some really cute squealing noises.

*The only times she cries is if she wants to be held or if she is hungry. I have not yet had a time where I couldn't figure out what she wanted (knock on wood!).

*She is NOT one of those babies that loves the carseat and goees to sleep everytime she's in the car. She will scream the entire ride anywhere if her belly is not all the way full.

*She makes me a better person. I think more carefully about things before I do them because I want to make sure it's not something I would be ashamed for my daughter to see/hear me doing.

Funny Zoe

Today, like every Sunday, we went to Mom's after church for the afternoon. Well Zoe said some really funny things today that I wanted to share.

First, she is obsessed with the cats, Jaq and Gus. Remember the little Elmira girl from that cartoon, who always carried the cat around and loved/tortured it? Well, that is Zoe. She picks up the cats, who are nearly as tall as her when she is holding them up under their front legs, and drags them into the bathroom, and has been known to "wash" them in the tub, and do other "loving" things to them. Well yesterday I guess Gus got fed up with her and bit her on the arm. So we were talking about it today and she went over to him as he was laying in the chair and started patting his head, making it bob up and down. She proceeds to say, "look! He looks like a bobblehead!". Haha! I didn't know 4 year olds knew what bobbleheads were!

On Sundays Anthony ususally has planning, grading, or his own homework to work on, so he goes downstairs away from everyone so he can work in peace. Well, sometimes Zoe goes down there, because she loves him to death, but I tell her not to bother him. Well, I guess I had asked Anthony if she was bothering him and if she did to yell for me and I would make her come upstairs. And he usually says "she's fine" if he is not being bothered. She has picked up on this and today asked him, "Anthony, am I fine?" when she heard me talking to him about it!

And I saved the best for last. We were eating lunch at the table and Bailey was sleeping in her carrier over on the couch. She started to fuss a little bit and Zoe says, matter-of-factly, "Tara..... Child" to alert me that my child needed attention! Haha! It was so funny.

I love all the funny things she says!

Better Sleep

Well, yesterday was much better. I can definitely tell she is eating more in a single feeding now than before, so her stomach must be bigger! The SwaddleMe has been great so far! The past two nights she has slept for 3+ hours the first time I put her down. The first night, she was up every hour after that, but last night it was more like every 2 or 2+ hours. I'm trying to make sure I make her eat enough to get full in the night feedings because she tends to fall asleep and not get all the way full. But it's hard, because I tend to fall asleep as well! But it seems like things are going in the right direction, so we're doing good.

Naps have also been a struggle as she just has not slept well in her crib. She would only sleep a few minutes and then wake up. Well I put her in the SwaddleMe and put her in the crib a little while ago, and she is still sleeping! Hopefully she gets a good nap this morning. And on that note, I'm going to go get dressed and try for a nap myself! :)

3 Week Growth Spurt?

I am going insane today! I read somewhere that a lot of babies have a growth spurt at 3 weeks and they eat a lot more. Well, Bailey has been eating ALL DAY. Really, most of the day she has eaten just about every hour. I hope this doesn't last long and that tonight is better than today. I ordered a SwaddleMe and that came in the mail today so hopefully that will help!

First Bottle & First Bath

On Friday, Bailey had her first bottle! I waited this long because I didn't want her to have any nipple confusion and think she could stop breastfeeding, but she is pretty well established now so I felt like it would be safe. And we were going out to eat on Saturday and I wanted to be able to bring a bottle with us in case she got hungry. Anthony gave her the bottle, also as to not cause any confusion. She still needs some practice, but it got the job done!
































Last Monday, Bailey had her first real bath! She really liked it. She was content and did not cry the whole time, which I was very glad about. I love how it relaxes her, so baths will definitely be right before bed time for us! Here are a few pics from that...

Daddy Visit and Pics

Today, Anthony had a work day at school, so Bailey and I got lunch at Burger King and went to eat with him and to show Bailey off to the other teachers. :) She pooped twice while we were there, so his classroom is christened now! :) The other teachers loved her and we got many compliments on how beautiful she is. I especially hear a lot of comments about how clear and beautiful her skin and complexion is. We were there a couple of hours to make sure everyone got to see her and so I could feed her.

After leaving the school we ran to Walmart so I could get a humidifier. Bailey seems to be congested sometimes, and I don't know if she has a little cold or if it is something to do with laying flat a lot of the time. I put a couple of burp rags under the matress in the bassinet so her head is elevated a little while she sleeps at night and that seems to have helped, but I wanted to get the humidifier as well and see if that helps any. It was nice being at Walmart on a day besides a Saturday, and I noticed there were a lot of old people at Walmart during this time! Haha!

Here are a few pictures of Bailey...

3 Weeks

Bailey is 3 weeks old today! The time is flying by. Three weeks ago, right now I was about ready to go into the OR for my c-section. I remember hearing her cry for the first time when they got her out..... there is nothing more wonderful than that sound. I was having a hard time staying awake during the surgery, but when I heard her cry, I perked right up. :)

I meant to mention in my last blog that Bailey had her first real bath on Monday. She loves baths! And it's nice for me because it relaxes her and she conks out after she is all dressed and warm!

Speaking of which, she had a bath tonight and is sleeping right now, so I am going to take advantage of this time and get a few things done!

Bailey Update

Well, I have a free moment as little Bailey is sleeping, so I thought I should update though I don't feel like I have a lot to share.

Anthony went back to work on Monday and the week has gone really well so far. I've been putting Bailey in her crib for naps during the day and she doesn't sleep great, but long enough for me to do the essentials. I figured out that I feel close to "normal" at least, if she lets me have enough time to get the essential things done.

Nights are decent - better than they were at first at least. Last night she went down to sleep at around 10:30ish and she was up every 2 to 2 1/2 hours to eat, so she ended up eating 3 times during the night before we got up for the day. I am adjusting to that still, but it's getting better.

She is really a pretty good baby. She pretty much only cries when she is hungry (which is an awful lot, haha). I am breastfeeding and it is going really well and I'm really to the point of enjoying it now. It's just another reminder of God's amazing design for human life. I love that I am able to give her the nourishment that she needs and it makes for some great bonding time with her.

I suppose that's about all I have for now. Everything is going well and we are getting adjusted and enjoying this new stage of life!

Pics

2 Weeks Old!

I cannot believe that my baby is 2 weeks old already! The time has just flown by. Things are going okay. She seems to do a little better at night. We're still trying to figure each other out I think. She loves to be held and sometimes that is the only way she will sleep. I would love some advice on the subject if anyone has any to offer. She's sleeping in the car seat at night mostly, and I am trying to put her in the bassinet when I have the energy to attempt it. During the day I'm trying to have her sleep in her crib so she will get used to it, but most of the time she wakes up after a few minutes. I plan to let her cry it out when she is old enough but any suggestions till then??

Random tidbits....

I had my staples removed on Monday and I can sleep on my side again - yay! Life is definitely more comfortable without them!

I left Bailey for the first time today - about an hour or a little more. My friend Megan had her baby on Friday - his name is Cooper Riley - so I went to see them and left Bailey in my mom's care while she was sleeping. Bailey was sleeping that is, not my mom. :) She took a really good nap but Megan only lives 2 streets over from Mom so she just called me once Bailey woke up. It was nice to have a break, but I have to admit, I did miss her and was worried.

Anthony has to go back to work tomorrow. :( So I will probably be planted on the couch watching the same old shows for most of the day. I am already looking forward to him getting home tomorrow afternoon!


Well, I guess that's a decent enough update for now. We are surviving, though I am remembering less of what happens during the nights now! My wonderful husband did some serious tidying up in the house this weekend so it is at least somewhat presentable now. I really can't wait till we have some kind of schedule and she sleeps without being held, but I'm trying to enjoy this time while she is so tiny.

Birth Story

Well, Bailey is sleeping on my lap right now, so I thought I would attempt to at least start the "birth story" blog. It was a LONG day so it may take me more than one sitting to get this done! :) I cannot believe she is a week old already. Where does the time go??

Friday morning, December 26th I woke up and was having some contractions, though they were far apart and not regular. I was also having some bleeding. I was so excited that something was finally happening! I debated on whether to go to work or not, but I decided to go ahead and go, because it wasn't that bad yet and I was still wanting to get in some more time to make sure Tina was confident on how to do everything. Contractions stayed the same all day long, pretty far apart and not consistent.

I came home at the regular time and just went about life as normal. We started timing the contractions that evening and they were getting closer together, varying somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes apart or so. We went to bed and then I woke up around 1:30, very uncomfortable and the contractions were around 5 minutes apart. There was no going back to sleep at this point, so we both got up, and Anthony was frantically getting everything together to go to the hospital! He did not want to be delivering this baby himself! :) I was not in a hurry to go to the hospital, becasue I did NOT want to be sent home. Finally, when I decided it was not going to stop, we left for the hospital and got there around 3:30 am.

They got me all hooked up and we waited. The first time they checked me, I was 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced, which was not encouraging! They said they would check again in a couple of hours and see how things were going and then decide if they would keep me or send me home to labor. So we waited some more. Eventually they gave me something to help with the pain and later I got in the jacuzzi tub to see if that would help any. It really helped the back pain I was having and that was really the first time I was able to sleep in between contractions (which were about 4 minutes apart at this point). That was around 11:00 am if I remember correctly.

A little later, Dr. Hoover came and checked me again and I was about 90% effaced but still only 1 cm dilated. So he said I could either go home and let labor continue there or they could give me pitocin and try to move things along. I decided to go with the pitocin because I was really in a lot of pain at that point, and could not imagine doing that at home for who knows how long.

So they gave me the pitocin and a little later, broke my water. Not long after that, the pain obviously got worse so they went ahead and gave me the epidural. That is the best thing ever known to man! When I got pregnant I was worried about the epidural being painful when they gave it to me, but I remember Ashley telling me I would be in so much pain at that point, that I wouldn't care what they did to me. So true! The numbing shot hurt a little bit, but I didn't even feel the catheter go in my back. I had about 2 contractions while he was putting it in but it didn't take long till I was feeling good!

They continued to check me and sometime that afternoon I was about 3 to 4 cm and 90% effaced. Then the next time Dr. Hoover checked me, I had gone back to 75% effaced. That was the point where he mentioned the possibility of a c-section if things didn't start happening. He gave me a few more hours to see if I would continue, but I stayed at 75%. He said that her head was probably butting up against my cervix and making it swell. So he made the decision that we would have to do a c-section. At some point in the afternoon, they also noticed that after contractions, Bailey's heart rate was dropping a little. It wasn't enough to be extremely concerned about, but they made me lay on my side to see if that helped, and it did. So I think that was a factor in the decision for a c-section as well. I was disappointed, but I wanted whatever was best for Bailey and I was just really ready to have her out, no matter how she got there!

It was early evening when they decided on a c-section, maybe 5 something. They said it would be a couple hours because there was one c-section and one other procedure in front of me. That second procedure ended up taking longer than they thought so eventually they called in another surgical team so they could get to me. So it was a little before 9:00 I believe when they came to take me to the operating room. At this point, I was absolutely exhausted and could barely hold my eyes open.

They got me all set up in the OR and Anthony came in and sat with me by my head. I had the shakes, whether it was totally medical, being cold, or being scared, or a combination of all 3, who knows, but I was just so ready for it to be over with. It took a few minutes before they started because they made sure that I was numb up far enough, and had to tilt me all over the place to make sure of it! Once they got started Bailey was out pretty quickly, born at 9:23 pm. She started crying right away and the pediatrician said she was very vigorous and healthy. They brought her over to us and Anthony got to hold her and I could move my arm to touch her face. Even in my drugged up, totally exhausted state, I still cried a few tears when I saw our precious little miracle.

Then they took her away to the nursery and Anthony went with her, so I was "alone" for the rest of the time, which stinks, but at least I felt like I could close my eyes. At a few different points I started to feel uncomfortable so the anestheisologist gave me more medication. God bless that man! :) He checked on me several times throughout my hospital stay and I was happy with the care I got from him.

When they finally finished closing me back up they brought me back to my recvoery room, where I would be for the rest of my stay. I could not have anyone with me for the first hour, which is just the standard after a c-section, just to make sure everything is okay I guess. Though I think it was a little before the hour was up, that they brought Bailey in to me, since everything was fine with her, and Anthony was able to come in as well.

My recovery in the hospital went really well. They originally told me I would probably be able to go home on Tuesday, but becasue my pain was being managed so well and I was up and moving around so well, Dr. Hoover allowed me to go home Monday afternoon. (And I am glad that I did that!)

I think I hit all the high points. Like I said, I am disappointed I had to have a c-section and can't help but wonder if it would have been avoided if I had went home instead of doing the pitocin, but I am just so glad to have a healthy baby, so it doesn't matter. We are happy and healthy, so that is the important thing. There have been some rough moments since she has been home, and I've had to cry more than once, but we are so in love with little Bailey and can't really complain. The worst thing so far has been how often she eats. I think it's probably more than the normal newborn eats, so it's made for a few rough nights but we are starting to figure things out at I think! :)